To prevent the accumulation of leaves and other debris in gutters, screening is available to keep material from entering and at the same time permitting the free passage of rain water. The screen material commonly comes in a roll having a width which will traverse the upper open end of the gutter, from the gutter inside wall to the outer wall thereof.
The screen is usually made of light mesh wire, manufactured from aluminum, plastic or other material. The gauge is such as to enable screen six inches wide, or the like, to be rolled into a package, for example, 20 feet long, and subject to being rolled out to provide a gutter cover.
Such a screen involves some difficulties to install. As it is unrolled, the screen has a tendency to return to its rolled form. If it is desired to have the screen applied in one continuous long piece, when it is attached at one end of the gutter and then rolled out towards the opposite end, the portion first installed may come loose and roll up when the person is locating the opposite end of the screen.
One way to overcome this is to cut the screen into short sections about 3 feet long so that the installer can handle both ends of a given piece of screen at one time. In such an installation, the screen sections may be overlapped.
Installation is also difficult because of the lightness of the screen and because of a tendency of the screen to collapse when in place. When heavy debris comes in contact with the screen, it may cause the screen to cave into the gutter rather than support material on top of the screen.